It is well known in the prior art that arm rest cushions may consist of a relatively soft, resilient member attached to a relatively rigid member for support and mounting purposes, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,690,212; 3,300,250; 4,019,779; 4,099,780 and 4,331,360. Pockets or sponge-like filler may also be employed to provide additional resiliency and improve the compressive strength of the resilient member, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,318,841; 2,802,519; 3,300,250; 4,019,779 and 4,331,360. However, the art has generally lacked the simplified manufacturing, assembly, and maintenance qualities of the invention described in this application.
The federal government's recent deregulation of the airline industry has resulted in a drastic increase in the degree of competition between the various airlines, forcing airline management to pay special attention to cost cutting in every possible aspect of their operations. There has therefore been a particular need for efficient and economical production of non-critical components in the industry, specifically passenger compartment seating accessories. The use of injection molded plastics for construction of commercial airline seating has significantly reduced the cost in maintaining the interior of heavily trafficked passenger airliners.
In particular, the arm rests require frequent replacement due to wear and inadvertent passenger destruction. While many of the plastic arm rests existing in the art are certainly suitable for use in conjunction with passenger airlines, an improved padded arm rest having the important characteristics of durability, simplicity of construction, and economical production cost has been desired yet has heretofore been unrealized in the industry.